This invention relates to a closure for a container having a tamper indicating band and more particularly to a closure for a container having a tamper indicating band with a decreasing outer surface diameter.
It has become common practice in packaging containers to have a closure on the container with a tamper indicating band attached to a lower portion of the closure wherein the tampering indicating band is retained on the container upon the first removal of the closure from the container. The tamper indicating band is generally connected by a broken line which is defined by a plurality of bridges and spaces circumscribing the container and connecting the tamper indicating band to a lower terminating end of a skirt for the closure. Upon the first removal of the closure from the container, the band is severed along the bridge portions to indicate that the closure has been tampered with.
There have been a number of tamper indicating closures on packages and particularly tamper indicating bands attached to the lower edges of closure skirts. Moreover, there are a number of references in the prior art which teach tamper indicating bands with folding fingers at their lower terminating ends which engage the neck of a container and assist in maintaining the tamper indicating band on the container. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,488,655; 4,506,795; and U.K. Patent Application No. 2,033,350 all teach tamper indicating bands having folding fingers with these bands being attached to the lower edge of closure skirts.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tamper indicting band for a closure for a container having flexible finger portions for engagement with a retaining bead of a container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a closure for a container having a tamper indicating band having an outer surface of a greater diameter at an upper portion than at a lower portion.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a closure for a container which is easily removable from a molding core of ever decreasing outer surface diameter from top to bottom so the molded part falls free out of a stripper ring on removal from a mold core.
More particularly, the present invention provides a closure for a container having a top wall with a skirt circumscribing the top wall and extending downwardly therefrom. The skirt is provided with a skirt lower terminating end of a first outer diameter. A tamper indicating band extends downwardly from the skirt lower terminating end and the tamper indicating band has an upper band portion of a second outer diameter and a lower retaining band portion of a third outer diameter, the upper band and the lower retaining band being separated by a frangible connection. The lower retaining band has a retaining band terminating end with a plurality of folding fingers extending downwardly therefrom. The folding fingers have upper fingers end of a fourth outer diameter and a lower fingers end of a fifth outer diameter. The first outer diameter is greater than the second outer diameter, the second outer diameter is greater than the third outer diameter, the third outer diameter is greater than the fourth outer diameter and the fourth outer diameter is greater than the fifth outer diameter.
A more comprehensive understanding of the invention can be obtained by considering the detailed description set forth hereinafter and the accompanying figures.